The Practical One
by Stultulo
Summary: Tori is the practical one. Is she really? Or do all three of the Wind Rangers have something to learn (continuing series)
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: Characters belong to BVE and Village Roadshow Productions, Ltd.  
  
Spoilers: Prelude to a Storm  
  
Author's note: This is my attempt at doing what Rach did for Time Force, except for Ninja Storm. I really like the character of Tori. Heck, I enjoy the entire series. I'll put all the episodes out eventually, one every week or two, but I'm in no hurry.  
  
The Practical One: Surfing Babe  
By Stultulo  
Copyright 2003  
  
Tori rode out the wave, sliding eventually to the shore. She knew that she should go after this last wave. It was time for her lessons at the Wind Ninja Academy, and she didn't want to be late.  
  
She jogged over to her bag. Inside, her watch was beeping, telling her that she was going to be late if she didn't hurry up. She slid into her clothes and quickly ran her battery-powered dryer through her hair. Wouldn't do to come to training with her hair wet.  
  
After she was done, she drove off the beach to the skate park, where she'd pick up her friends Shane and Dustin. They'd met their freshman year of high school, but she'd barely known them until Sensei had recruited the three of them.  
  
They'd never known Sensei's real name; he seemed like he was timeless. For all they knew, he was from the past. Of course, Cam, his obnoxious son, probably meant that Sensei wasn't more than two or three times older than them. Either that, or he'd gotten into the dad business late.  
  
Tori looked about, seeing if she could find any sign of the other two. As usual, neither of them was waiting for her, which meant that both of them had gotten tied up in skating and racing. She sighed. She could see the look in Sensei's eyes every time, and she didn't want to let the life of a ninja go.  
  
She shook her head and sighed again. They were going to be late. Again. Sensei wasn't going to be pleased. Again.  
  
"Boo! Miss me?" Shane was at the rolled-down window on the passenger side.  
  
She started momentarily. "In your dreams," she shot back. Shane got in on the passenger side, tossing his skateboard in the back, narrowly missing her surfboard. "Where's Dustin?"  
  
But as she spoke, Dustin appeared in her rear-view mirror, startling the pigeons as he ran along the sidewalk and grass. "Last as usual." Late as usual. Dustin wouldn't be on time to his own funeral.  
  
"Oh, man," Shane moaned as the side door to her van opened and Dustin flopped inside. Just as she thought he was going to sit in the back seat, he did a clumsy somersault and landed in the front between her and Shane.  
  
Resisting comment, she drove off. Sensei was going to be so mad....  
Somehow, they managed to get on the road. It was quite a drive to the portal, and a stiff climb after that. They were late as it was.  
  
"How can you guys be late every single time?" Tori demanded. "I couldn't be late if I actually planned it!"  
  
"That's because you're the reliable one," Dustin told her. Of the trio, he was affiliated with Earth: reliable, dependable. Shane was affiliated with the Air: calm and energized all at once. And she was a Water affiliation: turbulent but gentle.  
  
"What does that mean? The Reliable One?" she asked, trying to keep her mind on the road. The way the boys said it, it almost sounded like an insult.  
  
"Look," Shane said, and she knew it would be one of his attempts at explanations, "In every group, there are different types of people. Different personalities."  
  
"Totally true. Like, for example, the Power Rangers," Dustin contributed enthusiastically.  
  
Okay, time to nip this one in the bud. "Power Rangers?" she asked in jest. "You've got to be joking." Dustin's enthusiasm with comics was not something she neither shared nor cared to share.  
  
"No, I'm not," Dustin said. "There's always the mellow, reflective dude," he said, clearly meaning himself. That was true; Dustin was mellow to the point of flakiness, though she wouldn't call him reflective. Live in the moment, maybe.  
  
"And there's the risk-taker, the adrenaline guy," Shane said. He moved the rear-view mirror so that he could examine himself in it. Shane always thought more of his looks than she did, and she had to laugh at that. "That would, of course, be me."  
  
There was some mutual ribbing on the guys' end. "And you, Tori, you're the logical one," Dustin said, taking up the narrative.  
  
She laughed inside to think of herself on some superhero team. Dustin's words rang true in her heart, but she had to be embarrassed at her companions' words and acts. "You guys have to lay off the comic books." She shook her head. "Power Rangers. Whatever."  
The ride and hike to the Academy portal, male ribbing and complaining aside, was actually rather uneventful. As they got to the falls that would allow the three of them access to the portal, Dustin muttered, "It's quiet out here."  
  
"Too quiet," Shane replied, but he didn't stop. Tori could see the tenseness and worry in Shane's expression. It *was* too quiet.  
  
Shane stopped abruptly. "Did you see that?"  
  
But neither she nor Dustin had a chance to reply as shapes knocked into them, knocking all three to the ground.  
  
The shapes formed into a dozen or so warriors from the Academy. As she and the others got up, the message was clear: defend yourselves.  
  
Shane gave her a nod, and she knew what to do next. Synchronized with the others, she did an effortless quick-change into her Academy uniform. Then the warriors attacked.  
  
Ignoring, for the moment, what the other two were doing, Tori struck at a few of the ninjas, and then ran onto water. The water would aid her in her fight. Two of the ninja warriors, whose uniforms broadcast that they were the same affiliation, ran out after her.  
  
She skated to a halt, and looked up in time to see the two leaping towards her. Momentarily frozen, she could do nothing but try to keep her balance on the water, which was disturbed by the action.  
  
As the two landed nearby, the pond chose that moment to have waves, and she lost her balance. Ingloriously, she felt herself sink into the water, and she knew that if she had been in a real fight, she'd have been in trouble. The two ninjas walked smoothly over to her and helped her regain her balance before escorting her, dripping, to the shore. *So much for drying my hair before Sensei sees,* she thought.   
  
As some of the other ninjas laughed, she could see Dustin attempt a disappearing maneuver... only to get himself stuck partway into the ground. Laughing derisively, another six or so ninjas helped him out. Above him, Shane was attempting to tackle another ninja mid-air. Unfortunately, Shane was as lucky as both she and Dustin, and landed roughly on the ground. Dustin's escorts pushed him to where she stood, and soon Shane's opponents had the third of their trio lined up in an embarrassing heap of wet hair and dislodged uniforms.  
  
The three of them stood before their classmates for a minute or two before the cry of a hawk distracted them. The hawk flew in a lazy circle before landing on the ground, and then shimmered into the form of a stern, bald Asian man in robes – Sensei. He looked disapprovingly at them. "That's enough for today." Instantly, the other students flew away in black blurs, heading back towards the Academy.  
  
"Tori." Sensei looked at her sternly, and she bowed her head in shame. But he was turning towards Shane. "Shane." Then he turned again. "Dustin." He faced all three of them again. "I am very disappointed. I will expect a visit from you to discuss your lack of commitment to your Ninja training."  
  
As he ended his statement, Sensei walked behind them. They turned in time to see him walk onto the water, only stopping as the portal flared open and drew him inside.  
  
There was silence for a second. "That wasn't so bad, huh?" Dustin asked. Only Dustin could make such statements at a time where the only thing that was coming up next was more bad news. As she and Shane walked onto the water, he exclaimed from behind, "What? It wasn't!"  
  
But she and Shane had the sense to ignore him. The portal deposited them within walking distance of the Academy, and she could see its banners flying: red for air, yellow for earth, blue for water. It seemed like something out of a fairy tale... but then being a ninja seemed like something out of a fairy tale.  
  
Shane was fiddling with his outfit nervously as Dustin continued chattering. "Don't worry; you can blame it all on me."  
  
Tori rolled her eyes inwardly. "Don't worry. We will." Though Sensei probably wouldn't listen anyway. As far as the old man was concerned, the three of them were inexcusably late, and it didn't really matter why.  
  
As the three of them walked up the path, she could see Sensei waiting for them, and beyond him, many others practicing their fighting techniques. It was almost as if Sensei blocked their way from being Ninjas, though Tori wondered if they didn't deserve it. Or at least some of them didn't deserve it. She was the one on time, after all. She hadn't mastered everything yet, but she at least could get there on time.  
  
Of course, the question on whether or not she wanted to be a ninja remained. The skills that she'd learned, she believed, would do her well even if Sensei ejected them. Given today, ejection seemed very likely.  
  
The three of them stopped and bowed before their Sensei. He beckoned for them to follow him. They walked along the edge of the practice fields, through a grassy area. "You have been students at the Wind Ninja Academy for nearly a year, and you have yet to see the importance of punctuality. I would suggest you find a way to change that before you return tomorrow. Otherwise, I will have no choice but to expel you."  
  
Tori cringed inwardly. They deserved that, they really deserved that. She'd been at the guys time and time again... well, at least maybe the other two would take it to heart. She could hear Shane protesting. "But you can't!"  
  
As she knew, Shane's protest cut no ice. "You all have great potential, and it would be a shame to waste it." Sensei looked down at his staff. "You must have other studies."  
  
Tori automatically bowed, knowing that the other two would be doing the same. As they walked off to go back to the van, they passed Cam, Sensei's son. Cam wasn't too bad looking, but he was a geek with an attitude problem. He didn't practice the ninja arts at all, but he acted superior to them. He was dressed in his usual color, green, but that's all Tori noticed before they were heading out. She could hear a vague, snide comment, and the Sensei using his son's first full name. Sensei was in teaching mode, and at least Cam was going to get it instead of them.  
  
As the weather turned suddenly cloudy, Tori wondered if things could get any worse. The three of them were as good as kicked out of academy, which would probably thrill Dustin and Shane, but she'd miss the place. She'd miss Sensei. She'd even miss Cam.  
  
She took a quick look back, but Sensei and Cam were out of view. "What's up?" Shane asked.  
  
"Nothing," she managed, but frowned. Something was wrong, she just couldn't put her finger on it.  
  
"Don't worry," Shane said. "We'll get here on time tomorrow." His eyes shone like a light. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe he wanted to stay.  
  
Dustin was moving with a determination that surprised her. "Yeah, Dude, you heard what Cam said! We can't give up without showing him a thing or two."  
  
But Tori was silent, still disturbed by something she didn't understand.  
The next day, to Tori's immense surprise, the three of them were on time. Eerily on time. They'd waited at the shop where Dustin worked, and then when the alarm rang, they ran out. They piled into the van, and there was none of the playfulness that had been present before. It was like they were both on their way to the executioners. "Are we on time?" Dustin asked.  
  
Frowning, Tori looked at her watch as the weather reporter spoke about the weird weather system that had manifested since yesterday. "We're early." For some reason, that filled her with dread. She knew that early was good, especially since that meant that the three of them wouldn't be kicked out, but still, she didn't want to get to class all of a sudden. She looked at the side of the road. "Hey, it looks like they need help." She remembered her watch. If they hurried, then....  
  
And besides, she couldn't leave them. Not with the storm threatening. She'd rather be kicked out for lateness then not run true to Sensei's ideals. Who knew, it might even save their rear ends one more time. She stopped the van.   
  
"No way," she could hear Shane objecting. "Tori, we can't!"  
  
"We can't just leave them here," Tori said. "What if something happens to them?" She was heading towards the car. She could see Dustin and Shane getting out too, Dustin with a box of tools.  
  
"All I know is if we're late, something's going to definitely happen to us," Shane called. "And it's not going to involve fun and fabulous prizes."  
  
But Tori and Dustin ignored him. Eventually, he joined them and between the three of them, they were able to get the car fixed. After the old couple thanked them, they went back to the car. Tori felt better about fixing the car, but the dread still filled her as soon as she stepped into the van. She could hear Shane and Dustin arguing. "He's a ninja master, Dustin. They don't oversleep."  
  
"Really?"  
  
Tori ignored them and drove off.  
There were no ninja attackers to greet the three of them as they arrived at the waterfall and its hidden portal. No sensei. The area was no different than almost any other time that the three of them had come to class, and yet it still bothered her. "Maybe Sensei did oversleep," Dustin joked weakly.  
  
She and Shane had the sense to ignore him as they walked towards the hidden portal. She didn't want to walk through, yet she had to. Sensei couldn't dismiss them or give them another chance if they didn't.  
  
As the three of them emerged from the school side of the portal, a wind almost blew them back into it. "What's going on?" Dustin yelled, as much for volume than anything else.  
  
"Someone's attacking the school!" Shane surged forward, all evident concerns about being expelled forgotten. She and Dustin struggled behind him, all fighting against the wind and trying to see what was going on.  
  
"Look out!" she yelled, as a fragment came flying towards Shane. However, the piece was blown out of the way as a last-minute reprieve. As they struggled forward, a sudden strong gust blew all of them onto their backs. They could only watch as what was left of the school was swallowed up by some sort of hurricane, which vanished. She shared a disbelieving look with Dustin.  
  
Finally, the winds and the hurricane subsided, and the three of them were left to see a pit in the ground where the school had been. Well, a hole in the ground and heaps of rubble, with the occasional ragged banner sticking out at an odd angle. "It's gone!" Shane exclaimed, as if to state the shocked obvious.  
  
"Okay," Dustin said, "I'm thinking earthquake."  
  
Shane saved her from replying. "Since when have you heard of an earthquake sucking people and buildings into the sky?" He trotted down into the hole left by the 'hurricane', and she found herself following him. She could see Dustin following as well.  
  
"What caused this?" she asked out loud, though she was and wasn't sure of the answer. A big, unnatural hurricane, to be sure. Or was it natural? And why did it only hit Sensei's academy?  
  
"Are we the only students left?" Dustin asked, ignoring her musings.  
  
They looked around the ruined landscape. There was no sign of Sensei, of the students, of anybody. They were alone.  
  
A pile of rubble shuttered. "Over there!" Shane shouted. A hand flailed out, causing enough shift so that the three of them could see the owner. "It's Cam!"  
  
The three of them ran over to assist Sensei's son out of the wreckage. "Cam, are you okay?" Shane asked, his concern overriding the trio's distaste for Cam.  
  
"I'm fine," Cam said, making an abortive attempt to dust himself and his glasses off. Suddenly, there was an explosion nearby. And another. Someone was shooting at them, Tori realized, as Cam took off. He was in better shape than he looked.  
  
As the explosions continued around them, the three ninjas followed Cam's lead. Cam stopped suddenly and was actively pulling a chain. The chain lifted a section of... Tori squinted and realized it was some sort of bomb shelter. "Come on!" Cam shouted, and the three of them scooted in, Tori pulling the door shut behind her.  
  
They followed Cam down an impressive flight of stairs deep into the earth. "Cam, what is this place?" Shane asked.  
  
"Just follow me," Cam said, as calm as he ever got. He replaced his glasses, though Tori didn't remember him holding onto them when someone started shooting at them. He put his hand on some sort of panel, and a narrow room lit up in front of them.  
  
"No way!" Shane exclaimed, and she could hear the stunned disbelief in his voice. Who had known that this place was there?  
  
"It's amazing," was all she managed.  
  
"Dude," Dustin said, not to be left out.  
  
"Don't ask any questions," Cam said, "Because I can't answer them." His voice was back to its old arrogant tones.  
  
"What, this is like some big secret?" she heard Shane ask.  
  
"Yes, Shane," Cam said, still sarcastic, "it's some big secret."  
  
"And there are some times when secrets must be revealed, Cam," Sensei's voice came reproachfully and grandly. Tori swung around, but she didn't see Sensei at all. She did see the small cart, though. As she looked closer, she could see a small rat-shape inside, dressed in a miniature version of Sensei's robes.  
  
"Hey, that rat sounds just like Sensei!" Shane stated.  
  
"Yeah," Dustin agreed, kneeling down to look at the small figure. "Doesn't look like him much, though. Except for the robes."  
  
Cam looked like he was about to roll his eyes. Or do violence to Shane and Dustin. "My father is not a rat. He's a guinea pig."  
  
Dustin turned towards Shane. "Dude," he said. "Did he just explain and I... I, like, missed it?" he said, making a sailing motion past his head with appropriate sound effects.  
  
"He's *stuck*," Cam explained, with more than a touch of impatience and condescension.  
  
"Stuck?" Shane asked. Cam gave him a look of annoyance.  
  
"Yes, Shane," Sensei said. "Stuck. Observe." He flipped up from his little cart onto a console, activating a retracting screen, and then flipped again so that he wasn't blocking their view of it. "This is Lothor. Once a great ninja, he was banished from the Earth when his lust for power turned him to the dark side." The console displayed a picture of a man in a mask, fighting Sensei's human form. "When our energy fields collided, I was transformed into what you see before you."  
  
Sensei continued. "Now he has returned and brought an army with him. They will do anything to take their planet for their own. Unless they are stopped...."  
  
"Who would be dumb enough to try to stop *them*?" Dustin butted in.  
  
"An excellent question, Dustin. The morphers, Cam." He turned from his three remaining students to his son.  
  
"Father, you can't be serious," Cam protested, and Tori suddenly knew the answer to the 'excellent' question. She, Dustin, and Shane were going to be the 'volunteers'.  
  
"We have no choice."  
  
"But these guys... I mean, *them*?" Cam was still protesting, and Tori became very, very sure that they were the ones fighting Lothor's army. All by themselves. "They're... but they're...."  
  
And suddenly she felt angry. Sure, she wasn't that great, but who was Cam to judge who could fight for their world. "We're what?" she asked.  
  
"I don't like the way that sounded," Shane said casually, crossing his arms. "Did you?" he said, thumping Dustin gently.  
  
"Actually, Dude," Dustin said, scratching at his temple, "I'm kinda lost here."  
  
"Now, Cam," Sensei said, and there was starting to be steel in his tone. Cam slouched a little and then walked to an alcove, removing something from it. When he returned, they could see it was an eight-sided box in some kind of lacquered wood.  
  
Cam approached the three of them. "These are your Power Ranger Wind morphers," he intoned formally as he opened the box to reveal three boxy little things nestled in plastic.  
  
*Those* boxy little things were going to help? "Yeah, right," she scoffed out loud, but Dustin leaned in, a silly smile on his face.  
  
"What did I tell you, Dude? The Power Rangers are real!" He picked up one of the objects, strapping it around his wrist. Curious, Tori picked up the one with a blue marking, the same as her uniform, while Shane picked up the red one. She strapped the object on, wondering why she'd somehow ended up with some kind of toylike thing strapped around her wrist.  
  
"Whatever," she said.  
  
As they were inspecting the new additions to their outfits, Sensei came forward. "Dustin, child of the earth, true to your heart, you will embody the powers of the Yellow Wind Ranger. Tori, fluid and graceful like the water, you will become the Blue Wind Ranger. Shane, always reaching for the stars, you will command the powers of the Red Wind Ranger." Tori smiled. It was as if she'd won a prize, at least at the moment. "Together, you shall be known as the Wind Power Rangers, protectors of the Earth."  
  
The solemn moment was broken by Shane. "So, what does this thing do?" he asked, confusion clear in his voice.  
  
"Does it have any games?" Dustin asked right after Shane's question.  
  
"No, it doesn't have any games," Tori said in exasperation. Sensei had just given them the power to save the Earth, and Dustin was looking for games?  
  
The beep of the console arm interrupted any arguments. Sensei looked at them. "Quickly! Lothor's army is attacking. You must intercept them. Call on your powers by saying 'Ninja Storm, Ranger Form'."  
  
The instructions felt *right* to Tori, as if something was whispering things to her, putting them in her head. As Shane led the flight out, she felt better than she had all day.  
As the three of them came down from another hidden entry point, they could see the army looking for them. "Looking for us?" Shane called. He brought his morpher to his chin. "Ninja Storm...." He hesitated, obviously forgetting what he was supposed to say next.  
  
"Ranger Form!" she hissed, about the same time Dustin did.  
  
"It's Ranger Form," Cam's irritated voice came over the comm built into the morphers.  
  
"Let an expert do it," Dustin said, working the kinks out before executing a serious of gestures. "Ninja Storm! Ranger Form! Hyah!"  
  
A shimmer of light later, and Dustin was replaced by a figure in yellow spandex and a helmet. "Oh yeah, baby, yeah!" Dustin exclaimed as he examined his new look. He turned towards the two of them. "Guess nobody's laughing at the comic book geek now, are they?"  
  
Tori couldn't help herself. She smiled. She could see Shane was smiling too. They nodded at each other, and then imitated Dustin's gestures and wording.  
  
Faster than thought, she was enclosed in a bodysuit of blue spandex which formed under and in place of her ninja uniform. A helmet formed around her head, but she could still see as if there was no helmet there.  
  
"Kelzaks! Attack!" The monster said, and the gibbering forms jumped up, popping forward until they were within range. It became a chaotic melee, with her being chased by the minions onto the water and blasting them into oblivion, an airborne chase, where Shane took the big ugly for a ride in his glider, and finally using their weapons to blow the big ugly into infinity. She was amazed at how much she seemed to know about using powers she didn't even know about until ten minutes before, but there was no time to reflect as the big ugly's remains blew into the wind. Her helmet slid open at a mental command, and she looked at the picture with her own eyes.  
  
"That really just happened, right?" Shane asked, in the tone of one who wonders if he just dreamed something and had just woken up.  
  
"I think so," Tori said, feeling just as uncertain.  
  
But Dustin seemed certain. "Now that.... was awesome," he proclaimed, and Tori realized that it had been real. They, and Wind Rangers, had just won their first battle. Turning to her new teammates, she celebrated.  
After the battle, after they had come back and Sensei had reminded them that the war was not over, only the first battle won, Tori found herself sitting outside their base, on a pile of rubble. Barely twenty-four hours ago, this had been an academy of learning, with plenty of students. Now, they, she, Dustin, and Shane, were the only ones left. The only ones left to defend the Earth.  
  
What Shane had said some twenty-four hours before stuck in her mind. Dustin was the mellow one, the one who'd forget things at a moment's notice, the one who didn't take life so seriously. Shane lived for excitement, for adventure. He was strong and impulsive. And she was the practical one, the logical one, the one that cared too much to let go.  
  
And they would save the Earth. She hoped. Cam's sarcastic remarks still echoed in her head. Could they do it? Could they let go of their flaws? Tori could only hope so. They had a long fight ahead of them.  
To be continued in "Grouped Together" 


	2. Grouped Together

Disclaimer: Characters belong to B V E and Village Roadshow Productions Ltd. Dialogue on this one probably belongs to Ann Austen. Borrowing both not for profit. Hope no suing. Episode interpretation is mine. Inspiration provided by Rach. Boxes provided by Office Depot.  
  
Spoilers: There's no "I" in Team  
  
Author's Notes: Made it to episode #2. Barring preemptions, should be about six weeks behind on the storyline. I'm doing these in episode order, though I sometimes am tempted to skip an ep or two. (I *am* doing a Cam POV for "Nowhere to Grow" that's refusing to wait.) This piece is far less literal in following the action and dialogue than the first piece.  
  
The Practical One: Grouped Together  
By Stultulo  
Copyright 2003  
  
It was windy, and her wrist hurt. Dressed in her ninja uniform, with a cloth across her mouth to prevent her from choking on the sand, Tori could only wish the torture would be done soon... or that Shane would stop walking so fast. Their Red Ranger was focused on the goal, and nothing would stop him... even being handcuffed to his teammates. Unfortunately, that meant he was ignoring the pain of said teammates. "Ow!" she exclaimed, as a way of getting Shane's attention.  
  
"Sorry, Tori," Shane apologized, but the tone indicated that it was an absentminded apology. Single-track mind, that was for sure. "It would be so much faster if we were allowed to split up."  
  
"Not to mention less painful." But Sensei had a reason for this, she was sure. Now that they were a team, they had to act like a team, she guessed.  
  
"You know, this 'scroll of three' thing better be worth it, man," Dustin complained. Shane was jerking him along as surely as he was hauling Tori. "These cuffs are brutal!"  
  
"Sensei wouldn't have sent us if it wasn't important," Shane stated plainly. None of them quite remembered how they'd gotten to this desert, as if the journey from Ninja Ops had clouded their minds. She remembered Sensei's command, and Cam engaging a control... and that was it. She frowned. Shane, ignoring her "Ow!" of pain, continued. "It's gotta be around here somewhere."  
  
"What kind of scroll are we talking about anyway?" Dustin asked.  
  
"I thinking if we see a scroll *anywhere* around here, that's probably it," she replied, snapping because she was tired of the wind and the sand and Shane's constant pulling.  
  
"Well, there's one," Dustin said, saving her from thinking of what they'd have to do if it required digging the thing out of a cave, or something like that. Maybe a cave would be great. It might be cool and less windy and sandy. She looked up. There was a scroll in midair, surrounded by some... lanterns, it looked like. She had just enough time to gape in awe at the sparkling scroll before Shane was running towards it.   
  
"Wait, there's something on it!" Tori cried, bringing Shane to a screeching halt and pausing the abuse on her abused arm socket.  
  
"Stronger is one than three," Shane mused, reading the wording on the scroll.  
  
"That's it?" Dustin cried. "We'd be better off buying fortune cookies!"  
  
"Let's just get it," Tori said, wanting the torture to end.  
  
"I'll get it," Shane called, and leaped forward as if she and Dustin weren't cuffed to him. Unprepared for the leap, she felt herself being lifted up in the air... and as she and Dustin weren't prepared, falling down in a heap with her two teammates.  
  
"Who's on my foot? Shane!" Dustin cried, no doubt because of the landing.  
  
"That was *so* not effective," she said. Her wrist hurt, she was tired... she wanted to get out of there, but how could she, tied to the other two?  
  
"Never mind," Shane said, with a touch of annoyance. "I'll do this myself." No small matter that the three of them were tied together.  
  
As the three of them tried to get up, dark shapes leaped and landed around them. "Kelzak, party of ten," Dustin gulped as the three of them got ready for battle.  
  
Of course, fighting when they were cuffed together wasn't easy. No matter how hard Tori tried to defend herself, she was being pulled off balance by Shane, and no amount of yelling would get him to do things her way.  
  
Eventually, a lucky blow by a kelzak saber caused the cuffs to fall off. "I'll get the scroll!" Shane cried.  
  
"Shane!" she yelled, trying to get his attention. She knew that she was being overwhelmed, and she could really do with some help right then and there. Dustin couldn't help; he was equally overwhelmed. "Wait! Stop!"  
  
Eventually, their cries penetrated through to Shane, but it was too late. They were toast. "No!" the could hear Shane cry, as the swords came crashing down....  
  
And suddenly, the world broke up into pixels. She was lying on the floor of their headquarters. Tori blinked as her memories swam up, and she remembered that they'd done their scroll quest at least half a dozen times.  
  
They'd failed at least half a dozen times.  
  
"I almost had it," Shane moaned. He looked pained... and annoyed.  
  
"Simulation over," Cam said from one end of the table, opposite them. The holographic technology adaptation had been Cam's idea; the clouding of their minds, the forced forgetting that they were not in the desert, was Sensei's. "Well, that was... below average," he continued in his usual dry, sarcastic tone, as he closed the computer. "It'll be on the mainframe if you want to relive it." With that, he left to what must be his private quarters, or for all they knew, he was going to the mainframe and thinking up more torture for them on Sensei's behalf.  
  
"Rangers," Sensei intoned, "you were lucky this was only a simulation." The guinea pig face didn't allow much expression, but his tone conveyed what his face could not.  
  
"Sensei," Tori pleaded, "why can't we get this right? Why do we keep failing?" She wasn't happy to go through the simulation again and again, but it was obvious they sucked at being able to work together. Why couldn't they do this? They'd been friends for years.  
  
"That is for you to figure out," Sensei said. He backflipped off the table. "Tomorrow, we will try again."  
  
The lesson was over, obviously. She saw Dustin stretch and turn to leave, and she followed. "Where are you guys going?" Shane asked from behind them. She turned to see their Red Ranger still holding his hat.  
  
"Home. Aren't you?" Tori asked.  
  
Shane ignored that. "We've got to get this right!"  
  
"Sensei said we'd try this again tomorrow," Tori offered. She was tired, she was still sore... taking a break seemed like a very good thing.  
  
"Man, if I don't get some sleep, tomorrow's just going to be a repeat of today." Dustin yawned once again, for effect. She didn't blame him, after they'd spent almost their entire Saturday training.  
  
"Look, that's why we need to keep practicing. Until you guys get it right."  
  
She could see the expression on Shane's face as he realized what he'd said. But it was too late to swallow the words now; he'd meant what he'd said. And she wasn't about to let him off the hook for it.  
  
"Until *we* get it right?" she demanded.  
  
To his credit, Shane looked ashamed. "Look, that's not what I meant."  
  
No, she wasn't going to let him off the hook. "Oh, we *know* what you meant." Shane wanted to blame it all on them. Wanted to pretend that he was the best person on the team.   
  
She'd about made it to the stairs when someone grabbed her arm and she was swung around, along with Dustin, to Shane's glaring expression. "Look, this is not ninja school anymore. This is the real deal, and if you're not willing to focus on what's important, then...."  
  
Dustin grabbed Shane's hand and forced it off him. "Dude, if you think you can do a better job all by yourself, then just go for it."  
  
"Maybe I will," Shane seethed.  
  
"Fine," Tori said, about ready to throw her teammate out the window... if Ops had a window to throw him through.  
  
"Later, Dude," Dustin said finally.  
  
Shane's look was enough as he stomped off like a spoiled child. Dustin looked at her. "Let's go up. I'm about ready to hit something... or someone."  
  
"I know the feeling," Tori said. "I can't believe Shane. I've known him Ð we've both known him for years."  
  
"Yeah," Dustin agreed. "It's like, we're Rangers now, so he has to be this big serious dude, 'cause he's the Red Ranger."  
  
"Yeah." Tori agreed. "Think he's coming home with us?"  
  
"Knowing him," Dustin said, "he'll probably stay up all night and rewatch 'our' glorious failures. I mean, hasn't he ever heard 'what's the point of growing up if you can't act childish sometimes'? The guy needs a serious chill pill, and fast."  
  
"Yeah," Tori agreed once more. "So, let me take you home?"  
  
"Tori," Dustin said, smiling, "I'd let you take me home any time."  
  
=  
Dustin was still yawning when they returned to Ninja Ops the next day. "I bet," he said between yawns, "that he'll be having tea and arguing with Sensei or Cam."  
  
But as the two of them walked down and arrived at Ops, Shane wasn't there. Sensei was at the table, working a jigsaw puzzle that was probably his size all wadded together, and Cam was working on his computer, again. Of course, they'd never seen Cam do anything *but* work on his computer. "Where's Shane?" Cam asked.   
  
She and Dustin exchanged a look. Obviously, Shane had gone somewhere after they'd left, though they would have liked to know how, since they'd all come in Tori's van. "You mean he's not here?" she asked.  
  
"Look, he viewed the archives on the mainframe for a while, and then took him home." Cam looked annoyed. "Because nobody else was here to take him home."  
  
Tori blinked at the fact that Cam knew how to drive. Of course, Sensei's son was a computer genius, but that didn't always mean that he could drive a car. Or a truck. She tried to imagine him driving and failed.  
  
"He said he'd be here this morning. So where is he?" Cam asked.  
  
"We don't know- out there, saving the world, maybe?" Dustin sounded as irritated as she felt.  
  
"Yeah," Tori added. "I guess it's kind of nice, being a one-man army." She glanced down at Sensei's jigsaw puzzle. He was patiently moving about pieces with his tiny staff, as if Shane's actions didn't bother him.  
  
"Every piece has its place," Sensei intoned in his 'teaching' voice. "Shane will learn... but you must help him."  
  
"That's the problem," she said to Sensei. She watched Dustin yawn. "He won't let us."  
  
"He will. Give him time." Sensei turned and moved another puzzle piece into place.  
  
There was little more that could be said. Tori looked at Dustin. She was still furious at Shane, but she was rapidly becoming more worried as well. If he was alone, and something got him... it was going to be a long wait for him to come back to Ops.  
  
=  
It was only a few minutes later, or maybe a few hours, when Cam's console began to beep and Cam started pounding frantically on the keys. "What's going on, Cam?" Tori asked, as the picture resolved into Shane fighting something monstrous.   
  
"It's some magnet head thing," Cam managed. "I'm tapping into a police surveillance camera that's near a power reading that's off the scale." The three of them watched as Shane continued to be pounded.  
  
Finally, she couldn't stand it any more. She raced off towards the stairs, knowing Dustin was joining her. "Wait," Sensei called, and the two of them stopped. "I will let you know when it is time."  
  
She looked at Dustin. Dustin looked at her. But something told her that Sensei was right. Almost as one, the two of them came back to watch the uneven battle.  
  
Despite any proclamations to the contrary, Shane wasn't doing too well. No matter how he protested that he could do it on his own, Tori felt her heart strain as she watched him try to fight... and fail. She wondered if she'd be able to stop from running to his side, but one look at Sensei stopped that.  
  
She could only hope that Shane realized he needed help, and soon. As it seemed like he was going to be buried under a pile of metal, she heard him cry out, "Tori! Dustin! I need your help!"  
  
"Now?" Tori asked, pleading silently with Sensei to let them go.  
  
"Now," Sensei confirmed.  
  
"Let's do it," Dustin said, obviously ready to morph and get out of there. They both let out their morphing cries, and within seconds, were transformed into their Ranger forms.  
  
It was a quick hop and jump to the warehouse, where they caught the magnet monster by surprise, thoroughly dusting him. Shane's faceplace slid open. "Tori! Dustin! You guys came!"  
  
She thought she'd never seen Shane so relieved, or so humble, as he did that moment. "Well, of course we did," she said, as if he'd not acted like an idiot the night before.  
  
"I can't believe I was such a jerk," Shane continued on.  
  
"I can," Dustin said. At her nudge, he added, "Not dissin' you, bro."  
  
That was all they had time for before their opponent crashed in from where he'd sent them. However, with the three of them together, it was quickly finished off, if only for a few moments.  
  
=  
Tori felt elated as the three of them returned to Ops. The three of them had gotten Zords, and Dustin was doing his best at dancing all the way to Ops. The moment that they'd realized what the scroll meant - that three people working together as one was stronger than three working apart as individuals - they were able to piece their megazord together and defeat the monster.  
  
Dustin was still dancing as they reached the main area of Ops "We got Zords! How stoked is that?"  
  
"They are not toys," Sensei said, gently but reprovingly. "Remember your ninja training. Never escalate a battle."  
  
Holding out his hands, Dustin said, "Hey, that's fine with me, man."  
  
Sensei gave a miniscule nod in acknowledgment. "Now that you have learned to work as one, the balance of power will always be in your hands." With that, he slid the last piece of the puzzle in place, flipped down off the table, and walked away, leaving the three Rangers with a view of the finished puzzle - their Megazord. She felt Shane's arm snake around her shoulders as she gazed on the puzzle, and found a little peace. For the moment, everything was good.  
  
=  
Some time later, after they and Cam had made sure that there were no lingering aftereffects of the magnet monster, Tori saw Shane slip away up the stairs. Some impulse made her follow him, slowly, until she found herself a seat on a piece of wreckage. "Penny for your thoughts?"  
  
Shane gave her a half-smile. "Just feeling stupid right now," Shane admitted. "I wanted to do it alone. I didn't want you guys to be in my way... I just didn't want you to be hurt. So I tried to be a hero."  
  
Tori smiled and nudged him. "You *are* a hero," she said. "It's just that... we're a team. We have to learn to do things together."  
  
"To trust each other," Shane said, and she could tell he was pondering something. "You know, I was talking to Kelly today."  
  
"And?" Tori asked, wondering what Dustin's boss had to do with anything.  
  
"I asked her how she was such a good boss." He paused, looking at the boundaries of the former school. "She told me it was because she treated everybody like a member of the team. That she trusted them to do their part, and she'd do hers. I didn't understand how it applied... but I think I do now."  
  
"Good," she said. "I think."  
  
Shane got up. "In fact, I want to try Sensei's simulation again. I'm sure we'll do great... this time."   
  
"You're not serious," Tori stated, but she could see the twinkle in his eye. "Shane, you're not serious?"  
  
Her only response was a grin and a jog towards Ops. Tori sighed and started to make her way back.  
-to be followed by "Tomboy" 


	3. Tomboy

The Practical One: Tomboy  
by Stultulo  
copyright 2003  
  
The day had started getting bad after the last wave. Not that the weather was bad, or anything like it; Southern California rarely got cold. No, as soon as she laid eyes upon the guy chatting with Shane, she knew it was going to be bad.  
  
She wasn't near enough to hear what they were saying, but it didn't really matter. The guy was cute, he had a surfboard... hot surfer guy, to be sure. And he was looking in her direction. Shane was, too. They were talking about her.  
  
Then, as calm reason returned to her, Shane finished talking to the surfer guy, slapping him, and he was away. She watched in slow motion as the guy left, turned to smile at her regretfully, and then walked up the beach.  
  
Her gaze was fixed on the surfer dude until Shane came up beside her. "What was that all about?" she asked.  
  
"Oh, some guy couldn't stop talking about you, how hot you were, wanted to know what your phone number was. That kind of thing."  
  
"Whoa, whoa. Rewind here. Ultra-hot surfer dude wanted my phone number?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Made sense, too. Why hadn't Shane intruduced the two of them?  
  
"Yeah. It was *so* lame," Shane said enthusiastically. "Could you believe it?"  
  
"And you let him leave?" She'd hit Shane in the arm. He was such a dodo sometimes! Here was this dreamy guy, and Shane sent him on his way? Had he taken a few too many blaster bolts to the helmet?  
  
"Ow! What was that for?" Shan asked, rubbing his arm. He looked completely clueless. Of course, that was not impossible for Shane. Or Dustin.  
  
"Did you ever think I'd like to meet him?" she asked. "See if he wanted to hang out sometime?" He was completely clueless. Good Ranger, passably good Ninja he might be, he was clueless when it came to human relationships. No wonder the only girl he hung out with was her. And maybe Kelly.  
  
The grin dropped off Shane's face. "You're kidding, right?"  
  
Tori about threw up her arms. "You are just a complete... doofus!" It was the best way she could come up to describe him at a moment's notice that wasn't rude. What was up with Shane, anyway? Was he a complete idiot? "I've got to go meet Dustin."  
  
She walked away as fast as she could, carrying her surfboard. "Hey, I can try to get him back for you!" Shane called, but she ignored him. It was far too late. Her day was ruined.  
  
=  
  
It had taken her longer than she had thought to get to Storm Chargers. First, she'd had to fill up the tank of her ancient VW Bus again, and then a side trip for some pain medication. Being a Ranger always meant a need for a good supply of pain relievers. Sure, the suit took some of it away, but it always hurt.  
  
She walked straight to where Dustin was leaning on the counter, Kelley nowhere in evidence. Shane was sitting on the table behind the counter, head bowed. She ignored him as she inspected a line of clothing nearby. "You know, dude," Dustin said, "Shane thinks you're mad at him or something."  
  
Still not looking in Dustin or Shane's direction, she answered, "Wow. That must be why he gets the red suit." Trust Shane to use goofy Dustin as intermediary.  
  
"What happened?" Dustin asked. "I mean, it didn't sound like a great deal to me."  
  
Sighing, Tori turned towards Dustin. "You don't get it. I'm a girl. G-i-r-l." How could Dustin miss what was right before his eyes?  
  
"Yeah, I know," he floundered. "But it's... like... you're not a girl girl."  
  
"You're a guy girl," Shane contributed.  
  
"Yeah!" Dustin said.  
  
"My advice?" Kelly asked, coming up behind her, "Stop trying. You're only making it worse."  
  
When you hit six feet, stop digging. That had been the advice Tori's grandmother, born in the UK, had given her as a little girl. It seemed fitting at the moment.  
  
"Anyway, this came for you." Kelly handed her an envelope with an invitation inside, in that heavy cardstock that a lot of businesses favored. It was addressed to Tori Hanson.  
  
"From where?" Tori asked. The advertisement on the outside was for Girl Sport magazine, a publication she'd subscribed to, secretly or not, since she was twelve.  
  
"Don't know. I found it out back."  
  
Tori dug into it, knowing by instinct that Dustin and Shane had crowded in to look. She read it through, scarcely believing her eyes. "Girl Sport saw me surfing... and wants me for a photo shoot... an article about 'Beauties and the Beach'." She stared at the invitation, as if staring at it would give her any more information.  
  
"Girl Sport Magazine... isn't that where they have all those really beautiful girls?" Dustin asked, his tone indicating that she wasn't in that category.  
  
"Yes... so?" she asked, glaring at him.  
  
Dustin paled. "Uh, we're going to silent mode, here," he said, leading an equally-pale Shane over and away from her wrath.  
  
"So," Kelly said, "Are you going to do it?"  
  
"I don't know," Tori responded. "It's just... I hang around with the guys so much, it's like nobody remembers I'm a girl. I don't want to be some dopey tomboy."  
  
Tomboy. She hated the term. A tomboy was one of the guys, unattractive, someone that doomed to a life alone. Sure, she surfed, but that was hardly unladylike in this day and age. But it was still bad enough that Shane had intercepted that guy. Bad that Shane hadn't considered that she was a girl. What was she now, a guy with breasts?  
  
"I hope that's a good enough reason," Kelly said. Tori felt Kelly's hand slip away from her shoulder.  
  
Tori was left watching as Kelly went about her business. A warm body slid beside her. "Look, I know you're a girl-" Shane said.  
  
"Well, yeah," Tori said, wondering what his point was. Or if he'd ever get to the apology.  
  
"You don't have to do it to prove that to us," Shane said. "We get the point. You're a girl!"  
  
"Oh, really?" Tori said. "And what's the 'you're a guy girl' part about?" She tried to glare at Shane, but he looked so despondent that she couldn't.  
  
"You hang with us. It's just that Dustin and I don't think of you as a girl. That doesn't mean you aren't one."  
  
"Right." She hopped off the counter.  
  
"Where are you going?" Shane called.  
  
"To visit Sensei."  
  
* * *  
  
"... Is that a good enough reason to do the photo shoot, Sensei?" Tori asked. The guinea pig-like figure of her sensei peered at her through miniature, wire-rimmed glasses, while behind her, Cam typed endlessly. Whatever he was working on, he couldn't spare more than a moment to make sure she belonged there.  
  
"A ninja's strength flows through them from deep within their being," Sensei intoned as only a ninja master turned into a guinea pig could. "This can help them in all situations."  
  
What had Dustin said during their last run-through of the scroll of three simulation? That they could get better help from a fortune cookie? "You're no help at all, you know that?"  
  
"There is a difference," Sensei said in response, "between helping a person and telling them what to do."  
  
Tori frowned at him. "Right." Knowing that she'd get no more answers from him, she bowed to her Sensei and walked out.  
  
Once out of Ops, she sat down on a rock. In the dirty, muddy pit that was all that remained of the former Academy, grass, flowers, and weeds were starting to cover the ground. Nature's attempt to cover the scar that Lothor had made.  
  
She was a Wind Ninja, and a Ranger. She hung out with guys... well, because the guys she'd hung out with were funny and sweet and made her feel good. She, Shane, and Dustin were part of an inseperable trio. Mind, body, and heart. Shane was the strong leader, the body, she the thinker, the brains, and Dustin, ever goofy, was the heart. That was probably some cliche somewhere but it worked. Kinda.  
  
But she was not a guy. She didn't think she acted like a guy. She was a ninja, and a surfer, and a girl. She didn't act like Shane and Dustin or any other guy she knew.  
  
So why did Shane and Dustin forget? Was it because she didn't wear makeup? Wear dresses? She didn't *do* dresses, at least not since she had a choice. Lots of girls didn't nowadays. It didn't make them any less girls.  
  
Or was it because she was plain? Or... were Shane and Dustin just too used to her? It wasn't like she could spend time away from them; being a Ranger meant being a member of the team.  
  
Maybe... maybe they just needed a little reminder. A little something to remind them who she was. Sure, it wasn't a ninja thing to do... but it was a girl thing to do.  
  
=  
  
The letter hadn't contained any kind of contact info. It just pretty much gave her a time for the photo shoot, and if she wanted to show up, they'd take her.  
  
So, Tori found herself almost timidly approaching a trailer with clothing racks on the outside, hoping that she'd gotten the place right. "Hello? Anybody here?" she called.  
  
The door to the trailer flew open. One woman with pink hair and a sour expression stepped out, pretty much looking down at her. The second was a cheerful young woman with waving brown hair in a hairstyle and outfit that looked vaguely hippie-ish. "Hi, I'm Tori-" she managed, before wavy-hair ran a hand through a section of her hair.   
  
"My, my, aren't you... ordinary." Before Tori realized it, she had been pulled inside the trailer by the enthusiastic wavy-haired woman. "By the way, I'm Marie...." The young woman giggled as she started pulling outfits out. "I promise that Kay and I will get you into gear for a *fabulous* photo shoot!"  
  
"Kay... that's...."  
  
"My boss." Marie laughed. "But don't worry about her right now. We've got to do something about your hair... and your nails... and that *outfit*...." Marie held up a dress. "Nah, too small." She started going through more dresses.  
  
"But...."  
  
"Don't worry," Marie said. "I know what I'm doing."  
  
Tori knew she was in trouble.  
  
=  
  
One makeover later, and Tori found herself being pushed out of the trailer by a hyperactive Marie. Kay was sitting on a chair and scowling at her nails. Tori grimaced at her outfit. She was in this outrageous reddish outfit without a touch of blue, her hair was style in an almost sixties style... it was hideous. But if that was what they wanted....  
  
"It's perfect!" Marie exclaimed as Kay looked up.  
  
"But it's not me." It wasn't her. Something wasn't right here. Every copy of Girl Sport she'd ever gotten was more focused on sports, not fashion. And certainly not this fashion. Had she walked into someone else's photo shoot, or somebody's elaborate practical joke? She could have sworn the two looked familiar....  
  
"Darling, we've seen what's you. Trust me, it's an improvement. Now come over here and smile for the camera." Kay rushed her over, as if eager for the photo shoot to be over. She found herself staring at a somewhat old-fashioned camera while Marie did something to it and Kay typed something in to some sort of handheld that either gave her photo shoot data or was some kind of organizer. Bored, Tori looked at Kay's device.  
  
"Hold still!" Kay called. "It'll be all over in a moment." She continued to type into her device, and Tori found herself staring at it, and the tag on the back. It took her a minute or two to read the tag.  
  
"If found, return to Lothor." She looked up. In an instant, she knew.  
  
It wasn't some practical joke. It wasn't a photo shoot, either. The two of them were Kapri and Marah, Lothor's nieces, and she'd foolishly walked right straight into it. "I should have known it was you two... bad hair, bad clothes, overdone makeup...."  
  
"You really think it's overdone?" Marah asked, dismayed. "I mean, I have really weak pores." It was like Marah had forgotten, for a moment, about the trap.  
  
"Marah! Stop it!" Kapri exclaimed as she punched a button on the device. "Kelzaks!"  
  
Instantly, a group of Lothor's foot soldiers materialized. "Get her!" Kapri was pointing in her direction. Despite her best attempt to defeat the Kelzaks and get out of there, a misaimed kick caught by one of the soldiers meant that they soon had surrounded her and deposited her back in front of Kapri, Marah, and the camera.  
  
"Hold her still! Wait, wait... move!" The Kelzaks flipped away as Marah threw a control down on the camera. Nothing happened for a second, and then she was looking at a duplicate of herself.  
  
"Look familiar?" The girl asked in icy tones before Tori felt herself being drawn backwards, flying into the air, and landing in some boxy thing. She looked around. There was this octagonal window in front of her and some kind of skylight.  
  
There were long slits around the walls of the place, enough to allow her light to see.  
  
Suddenly, the room shook and she looked towards the window. A very large kelzak was looking at her. As it babbled and waved, she could see the sky behind it.  
  
And then she realized that she was *in* the camera-device. Trapped while that... image of her went and did... well, what ever it was probably instructed to do.  
  
The kelzak, joined by another, shook the 'camera' some more, and then it left her alone. She was now trapped, with hideous clothing and no ability to get out and tell the others of what was going on.  
  
Well... maybe not. She shifted out of the hideous clothing and into her ninja uniform. Tapping her morpher, she hit the communications function. "Cam?" No response from the smartalec techie. "Shane? Dustin?"  
  
But it was no use. The 'camera' was isolating her morpher communications as surely as it was isolating her. Sitting down, she tried not to cry.  
  
All she had done... it was so stupid. Kelly's words came back to her, and then Shane's, that she didn't have to do this to prove anything to him and Dustin. And then she remembered what Sensei had said.  
  
"A ninja's power comes from within," she mumbled. "That's it!" She was a water ninja... a Ranger attuned to the power of water. The Blue Ranger... it had to mean something. She closed her eyes and and concentrated her energy as Sensei had taught her. "I summon blue ninja powers of the rising waters!"  
  
She felt the water build beneath her, and carry her up to the 'skylight'. In a rush, she was free. She landed near the abandoned 'photo shoot' on the beach. Looking around, seeing that the coast was clear, she took a moment to calm herself... and then she used her ninja streak ability to catch up with her friends. She just hoped the thing that she'd seen before she'd been whisked into the camera hadn't caught up to them as well.  
  
When she landed, it was right in front of Dustin's van, or at least the one he used for work, the one with "Storm Chargers" emblazoned in front of it. The van screeched to a halt, and she could see the occupants: Dustin, Shane, and... the copy. The two guys looked like they weren't sure what they were seeing, while the copy looked furious. She got out of the van and stood in front of it.  
  
"Anything *you* can do, *I* can do better," the copy said, sneering.  
  
"Except pick clothes," Tori responded. She looked over the copy. "And what's with the *hair*?" The copy had the outfit she'd been in when Marah and Kapri had captured her with the camera.  
  
"You think this is funny? Well, bring it on girlfriend!" With that, the copy rushed into battle.  
  
The two fought for a while, and then the copy got the upper hand, and Tori ended up beside a turned-off fountain. "You're finished, girlfriend!" the copy announced.  
  
Tori looked at the fountain. Water! "You're the one that's finished!" she said, and mentally called upon the water. If the copy was a photograph... well, photos weren't waterproof.  
  
A large gush of water came from the fountain and drenched the copy. It fell back, gasping. "Help me! I'm melting!"  
  
And with that, the copy disincorporated. As soon as she knew that the copy was gone, Tori turned around to look for the others and the van. The van was there... but Dustin and Shane were fighting against some monster that had come down while Tori was fighting the copy.  
  
The other two sent the monster flying, and she came up to them, touching Shane on the shoulder. He jerked back, and they both fell into fighting position. "Relax, guys, it's me." She smiled.  
  
Their helmet faceplates slid open, revealing their faces. "How do we know you're the real Tori?" Dustin asked.  
  
How to prove her identity? She had to somehow show the two of them that she wasn't the copy. "Your real name is Waldo," she told Dustin. She turned to Shane. "You're afraid of spiders."  
  
She smiled, but she was inwardly holding her breath. How would the others react? Had the copy seemed just like her? They'd apparently accepted it.  
  
But Dustin was smiling. "You're afraid of *spiders*," he said, teasing Shane.  
  
"Shut up, *Waldo*."  
  
Tori smothered a grin. Both of her teammates had confided in her at points during their training. Dustin's full name was Waldo Dustin Croft, but after the "Where's Waldo?" craze he'd wisely changed it. And Shane... well, it was not easy for their bold leader to admit his one major fear of the eight-legged insects. "Look, group therapy later," she said, seeing the monster come back.  
  
Witty puns, a water attack, and some Megazord fighting later (including Cam introducing a new fighting mode), and the three Rangers returned back to the van.  
  
"That was something," Dustin commented as the three of them got back in.  
  
"Yeah," Shane agreed. "Glad that's over."  
  
"Right." Tori frowned. "By the way, how'd you know that was me back there? I could have been the copy!"  
  
Shane shrugged. "Your copy was obsessed with getting to Ops," he said. "She was bossy and determined, like you on your worst days. You remember that guy from the beach the other day that you razzed me about for not introducing you?"  
  
"Yeah, so?"  
  
"'You' didn't even know who I was talking about. But I didn't know what was up, so I didn't know she was a clone."  
  
"Copy. Literally." Even Tori could hear the distaste in her own voice.  
  
"Anyway, then you hopped in front of the van and... the rest is history."  
  
"So you trusted me because...."  
  
"Your copy wouldn't have cared about proving herself to us. She'd have demanded we get back into the van and drive."  
  
"And then you would have known?"  
  
"Having seen the real you... yeah." Shane smiled. "I'm sorry, Tori. You are a girl. Don't feel you ever have to prove something to us, okay?"  
  
"Okay," Tori said, grinning. "Just never, ever consider me a guy, ever again."  
  
"You've got it," Shane answered.  
  
"Guess we're not off to Ops now, yeah?" Dustin asked.  
  
"What do you think?" Shane and Tori chorused.  
  
=  
  
The next day, Tori stopped by Storm Chargers to hang a little bit with her teammates. She wondered what Kelly would think if she knew that one of her employees was actually one of the Rangers protecting the town, and wondered if Kelly didn't know already. They hadn't been as cautious as they could be.  
  
"Hey, Tori, give me a hand," Dustin pleaded as soon as they came in.  
  
"With what?" Tori asked, wondering what argument Dustin had gotten himself into.  
  
"There's this guy, and he's asking about surfboards, and I'm not any good at that sort of thing!" Dustin said. "Could you please talk to him?"  
  
"You do realize I don't actually *work* here?" Tori asked.  
  
"Yeah, but... I'll owe you a favor! Really!"  
  
Tori sighed. "Okay."  
  
"He's right over there," Dustin said, indicating the surfboards.  
  
"Right." Tori walked over. "I'm Tori," she said, to the lone guy at the board display. "How can I help you?"  
  
The guy turned around. "Hi," he said, and Tori's breath caught. It was the guy from the beach. "I'm Dill."  
  
"Pleased to meet you," she said, sneaking a look at Dustin. He was now standing over at the counter next to Shane and Kelly, and all three were smiling. It was a setup. But one she could live with.  
  
As she continued talking to Dill, she felt better than she had the last two days. She was a girl, her teammates knew that, and all was right with the world, for the moment.  
Next part: Biking Fool 


	4. Interlude: Biking Fool

Disclaimer: Characters belong to Buena Vista.  
  
Spoilers: Looming Thunder  
  
Author's note: Since "Looming Thunder" is so Dustin-heavy, I'm adding in this interlude that covers the events of that episode.  
  
The Practical One: Interlude: Biking Fool  
  
It all seems like a blur.  
  
I mean, Shane, Dustin, and I, we're a *team*. A Ranger team, a group of superheroes that exist only to save the world.  
  
And yet, somehow, we're not. Case in point, Dustin over the last day or two. Dustin's not exactly the most reliable guy I've ever known - a comic book geek, a rider, a mechanic for Kelly, yes. Reliable all the time, no. You'd think he'd get the point about showing up on time, especially after Sensei made him do the one hundred pushups.   
  
All I can say is that Dustin's going to have *really* nice abs by the time we finish being Rangers. I mean, Blake and Hunter. Not that they're not nice to look at or anything, but Shane's right. We have a world to protect now.  
  
Of course, Dustin forgets. Dustin forgets big time. And he's not bad at lashing back. He's like the personality thing we covered in school last year. Laid back, but if you get him upset, he'll lash out at the person who's hurt him, using things that aren't true. Like he did to Shane.  
  
But at least he knows who his friends are. I think. Maybe what Shane said was true - maybe Blake and Hunter do think that I only hang out with Dustin because I feel sorry for him. But I know it's not true. Shane knows it's not true.  
  
And that's what matters in the end. Dustin might care for his bikes and his riding a little bit too much sometimes, but I know that in the end, he's no fool.  
  
I feel sorry for Blake and Hunter when they figure that out. And in the meantime, I'd like to figure out why they wanted to hang out with Dustin too, even before they met me and Shane.  
  
I have a feeling that mystery's never going to be solved. Instead, I should turn back to my friends, my teammates.   
  
In the end, despite everything, they're not going to let me down. 


End file.
